‘Don’t waste this time’, Tusk tells UK

The UK was warned not “waste” the extra time granted by the EU to resolve the Brexit impasse, as European leaders argued in the aftermath of a tense Brussels summit.

In an interview with Polish media after six hours of negotiations, European Council president Donald Tusk voiced hopes that the UK could change its mind on Brexit.

“Maybe we can avoid the UK leaving the EU - this is obviously not my role, but it’s my personal, quiet dream,” he said.

And at a press conference at 2:30am yesterday, Mr Tusk told the UK: “Please do not waste this time.”

After the summit, Germany’s Europe minister Michael Roth tweeted that “all options are on the table” and said the UK could hold a general election or a second EU referendum as long as its leaders “deliver right now”.

French president Emmanuel Macron, who led calls for the UK to only be granted a short extension to Article 50 and forced the exit date to be brought forward to 31 October, was fiercely criticised for breaking with German chancellor Angela Merkel and undermining European unity.

In closed-door talks, European Commission president Jean-claude Juncker is reported to have told Mr Macron that “we are solving your domestic problems at this point”.

Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said that the French president took his stand for “tactical, internal reasons” with European elections on the horizon.

“Macron prioritised his own election campaign and interests over European unity,” Mr Röttgen added in a tweet.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is reported to have called for a long delay to Brexit, telling fellow EU leaders it would be “the greatest defeat of the Brexiteers, and maybe the beginning of the end for Brexit.”